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Friday, 17 May 2013

Review ~ The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett

Friday Recommended Read

Penguin Group Viking

30 May 2013

The Bookman’s Tale opens in 1995,
and introduces us to antiquarian book expert Peter Byerly, who has recently relocated
from America to the English countryside after the untimely death of his wife,
Amanda. In an antiquarian book shop in
Hay-on-Wye, Peter stumbles across a rare book about forgeries; he is bewildered
when a watercolour portrait hidden in the book seems to resemble his dead wife.
What then follows is the story of how Peter’s search to discover more about the
mysterious Victorian watercolour leads him into the bewildering world of
William Shakespeare’s lost works.

The mystery at the heart of the
story is cunningly manipulated and the twists and turns in the plot are
cleverly contrived. However, the real attraction is that this is a book for
book lovers, as the description of the conservation and love of books as desirable
objects of beauty really comes shining through, and makes you realise the aesthetic
value of rare literary masterpieces. The narrative switches effortlessly between
three time frames; 1995 and Peter’s search for the truth, 1985 and his
courtship and early marriage to his beloved Amanda, and even further back to
the Elizabethan world of William Shakespeare.

Beautifully written from start to
finish, this is one of those stories that deserves to do really well. I really
enjoyed it.

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